I’ve seen a lot of beautiful, moving images of the Shuttle lately but none have felt so intimate as these by Justin Ray for Spaceflight Now. Something about these photos of the now decommissioned spacecraft, engines removed, mission complete, bring the idea of it to life like none I’ve seen thus far. It’s the textures and details that highlight what an incredible machine this was and what a profound achievement for humankind it represents.
And look at that lettering! I’ve never seen it so close; it has such a handmade feel to it at this scale. The logos and typography of the Shuttle program always intrigued me, they seemed to represent the idea of the United States as a brand, an ideal to be consumed by the rest of the world. Then when Canadarm was installed on STS-2 it became apparent that even other — less crazy — countries felt the desire to push themselves as a brand in space. Of course, pushing your national space-brand became a bit more accessible with the ISS, but the US and Canada used Helvetica and were way ahead of the curve so I’d say they won whatever prize you get for most recognizable space-brand.
I wonder what we all gained growing up in a world where the Shuttle existed. I know it was a big part of my consciousness as a kid and probably had something to do with how I felt about my national identity. For me it symbolized the combined efforts of some of our greatest minds collectively reaching for a better understanding of the world we live in. For some — and perhaps rightly so — it probably represented a colossal waste of resources in the face of more earthly problems. Maybe it was both, but I I’ll personally miss it as a symbol of what we as humans can achieve when we work together.
Just came across William Eggelston’s photography work tonight (I know, very late to this party). I’m completely blown away. A lot of these almost feel like realist oil paintings.
Does anyone do work like this anymore? I’ve never really seen tone and definition like this in anyone’s work. I have to imagine most kids starting out in photography these days are purely digital; sad to think we’ll be seeing less and less film output as the years go on.
Hengki Koentjoro is a photographer from Indonesia, where most of these shots were taken. You can see more of his jaw-dropping work on his flickr. Any idea what kind of camera was used for these?
Beautiful, haunting double exposures by Oliver Morris. Even the title of his Flickr stream, “Lullabies to Paralyze” conjures a similar feeling of uneasiness in me.
This series is taken from a larger body of work in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.
Although not commonly thought of as a holiday destination all these photographs have been taken at tourist sites throughout the city.
It took over a year to get permission to go in with my camera and nothing quite prepares you for what awaits. I was not allowed to take my mobile phone past customs and was met by two guides who were to accompany me at all times throughout my trip.
It’s a fascinating glimpse into a place unknown to much of the world, and the series makes for an interesting counterpart to the previous post on North Korean propaganda posters.
Most of these were taken on Annenstraße and Keplerstraße as I made my way to and from the Schloßerg, an incredible former medieval fortress perched atop a huge dolomite outcropping right in the center of the city. I took a lot of shots around there too but I’ll spare you the overtly touristic stuff and stick to the more design-y offerings.
I’m not sure how best to describe this city to someone who’s never been here. If I had to compare it to other great cities in Europe I would say it’s a nice mixture of the high points of Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Prague (although I guess that’s so broad it could be applied to a lot of places). While it has that “400-year-old-buildings” vibe of Amsterdam, it doesn’t feel anywhere near as commercialized or overrun by tourism. It’s so much warmer than I expected; I’ve got an entire bag full of jackets and scarves that I haven’t even opened. It’s downright muggy here. I checked the weather before I came out here but I guess this is what I get coming from San Francisco (where I was in full winter clothing the day before I left, this spring has been a joke) and not knowing how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit off the top of my head. The crazy part is that I was walking around the Schloßerg thinking to myself how I wish I’d brought shorts and then I see a postcard depicting the exact spot I’m standing in covered in snow. It looked even more beautiful in winter.
This city has so much visual beauty, I really wish I had the time to dig in further. Hopefully I can make it back someday soon.
I was looking for texture inspiration for a new project when I came across the Flickr set of barbera*. I love the flat colors and geometric shapes of her photos; they remind me of Matthias Heiderich’sColor Berlin series.
